A.M. Best Affirms Credit Ratings Of Park Assurance Company

A.M. Best has affirmed Financial Strength Rating of A (Excellent) and Long-Term Issuer Credit Rating of "a" of Park Assurance Company (Park) (Burlington, VT). The outlook of these Credit Ratings (ratings) is stable.

Partially offsetting these positive rating factors are Park's large gross underwriting risk appetite and the potential credit risk associated with its extensive use of reinsurance, which management utilizes to mitigate these one-off risks. As a single-parent captive, Park provides JPMorgan Chase with very high insurance limits and insures some properties with substantial insured values.

Park provides JPMorgan Chase with global property coverages, including terrorism, as well as workers' compensation, auto liability and general liability. Therefore, these coverages are key components of JPMorgan Chase's risk management strategy, and Park benefits from the group's significant financial resources.

JPMorgan Chase also benefits from the group's extensive risk mitigation and safety programs. As Park reinsures a large portion of its global property program, its exposure to underwriting losses is minimal, barring significant losses from terrorism. Management only uses well-rated reinsurers, and Park's surplus base is more than adequate to support its asset and credit risk exposures. However, as Park offers very high limits, its resulting gross underwriting exposures on its largest properties are high relative to surplus. Its dependence on reinsurance is therefore substantial, creating considerable credit risk in the event of exceptionally large losses. In addition, Park remains dependent on the protection afforded by the Terrorism Risk Insurance Program Reauthorization Act of 2015 (TRIPRA), and while the TRIPRA program offers significant protection from terrorism losses, the net impact on Park could still be burdensome. Nevertheless, A.M. Best recognizes the low probability of such extreme events and the support available to Park as a single-parent captive of JPMorgan Chase.

A.M. Best views Park's enterprise risk management practices as strong given its close alignment with its parent and the positive impact JPMorgan Chase has on Park's corporate risk culture and its ability to measure, manage and mitigate risk in a prudent and optimal manner. Other factors considered in the rating process include, but are not limited to, the diversification in line of business and geography and the explicit and implied support and commitment of its parent.

Key rating factors that could lead to negative rating actions include material losses outside of management expectations, a significant and sustained decline in Park's risk-adjusted capitalization, operating performance results that do not meet A.M. Best's expectations, or a material shift in its risk profile that could potentially undermine the stability of its ratings. Financial issues resulting in rating pressure on the parent or deterioration on its credit profile could impact Park's ratings.

A.M. Best remains the leading rating agency of alternative risk transfer entities, with more than 200 such vehicles rated in the United States and throughout the world. For current Best's Credit Ratings and independent data on the captive and alternative risk transfer insurance market, please visit www.ambest.com/captive.

This press release relates to Credit Ratings that have been published on A.M. Best's website. For all rating information relating to the release and pertinent disclosures, including details of the office responsible for issuing each of the individual ratings referenced in this release, please see A.M. Best's Recent Rating Activity web page. For additional information regarding the use and limitations of Credit Rating opinions, please view Understanding Best's Credit Ratings.

A.M. Best is the world's oldest and most authoritative insurance rating and information source. For more information, visit www.ambest.com.